Five trends Iowa shoppers should watch for this season

10:52 AM,
Dec. 6, 2013

Written by

Patt Johnson
Des Moines Register

With 18 shopping days left before Christmas, consumers will be trying to tick items off their lists, and merchants will be offering sales and deals to help them.

This year, shoppers are expected to spend about $602 billion, up almost 4 percent from a year ago, according to the National Retail Federation. They got a good start on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday weekend with total sales estimated at $57.4 billion. ...